Machine for treating flax.



No. 861,688. PATENTED JULY 30 1907. K. WBSSEL.

MACHINE FOR TREATING FLAX.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.9, 1906. Y

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 861,688. PATENTED JULY 30, 1907.

'Y K. WESSEL.

MACHINE FOR TREATING PLAX.

'APPLICATION FILED AUG. 9, 1908.

' ga/JW @L3 www.;

No. 861,688. PATENTED JULY 30, 190'7. K. WESSEL. MACHINE FOR TREA'IING FLAX.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.9, 1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3 37 ff Www/[11 afwas' WZ Zewe @1% (M// Ef 221,3 @#077117 s' No. 861,688. PATENTED JULY 30, 1907.

K. WESSEL.

MACHINE PoR TREATING FLAX.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. Q 1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

'KARL wEs'sELioF sT. PA'UL, MINNEsoTA.

MACHINE FoRTREATING FLAX.

To all whom 'Lft may concern:

Be it 'known that I, KARL WEssEL, a citizen of the l United States, residing at St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Heating Flax; and I do' hereby` declare the following t be a full, clear, and exact description o f the in- 'p vention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

My invention has for its object to provide an improved machine for treating ax straws and for removing the seeds therefrom, and to' the above ends' the invention consists of' the novel devices and'combinations of devices hereinafter described and defined in the claims.

In this improved machine, the flax straw is placedv within a suitable hopper, and by'a traveling spreader,

which is in the naturel of an endless .power driven toothed belt, the flax is taken from the'bottom of the hopper or holder and is spread out in a thin sheet,

and is delivered infront of a plurality of pairs of rollers.

These rollers extend parallel to the plane of movement Aof the traveling spreader, and.' the most forward pair of said rollers are arrangedo to act as ,initial feed rollers, and means'isprovided for spreading the same so that the flax straw may be carried laterally between the saine, while it is being spread out ina sheet, by the toothed spreader. belt.` The spreader belt is moved intermittently; it is given its straw spreading movement Awhile the initial feed rollers are separated from each other; and itris arranged to standstill while the initial feed rollers are pressed together and are driven so as to cause the sheet of axstraw, interposedber tween the same,- to be fed forward "to and betwee y35v the.A successive pairs of mangle rollers.

The 'improved machine is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like'characters indicate like parts thro'ughout`the several views.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a plan view of-the improved machine,l some parts being broken away. Fig. 2 isa side elevation of the machine, some parts' being sectioned. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the improved machine, some parts being brokenaway. 4 is a vertical .section vtaken approximately on the line :1:4 x4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a. detail partly in elevation and partly in section, showing a portion of the toothed spreader belt. Fig. '6- is a` detail in vertical section taken through several of. the mangle rollers on the line 2:6 .117 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic v iew showing one of the intermediate belt and pulley drives of the machine.

The .improved machine hereinafter described, is designed as a-portablemachine which may be readily transported from place` to place, arid hence the same Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed August 9, 1.906. n Serial No."329,831.

Patented .my so, 19o?.

being indicated,` respectively, by .the numerals 1 and 2. Rigi'dly secured on the truck frame 2 is a heavy vbed frame 3 preferably in the form of a casting that] is rectangular in plan fview. The mangle rollers 4 are arranged. in horizontally disposed pairs. The lower mangle rollers are directly journaled in the side flanges of the bed plate 3, while the upper rollers are journaled in bearing blocks 5 that are slidablymounted in vertical seats, formed in the side flanges of said bed plate 3, and are subject to adjustable spring tension devices 6. The upper and lower members of the pairs of rollers 4 are geared to runtogether, in reverse directions, by intermeshing spur gears 7 applied to the shafts thereof. The shafts of adjacent lower rollers-4 project alternately from opposite sidesof the bed plate 3 and their projecting ends are v provided with miter gears 8. The miter gears 8 that are located on one side of the bed plate 3 mesh with miter gears 9 carried by a long counter-shaft 10 journaled in suitable bearings 11 on said bed plate. Itl will thus be seen that there is one shaft 10 located at each side of theinachine, and that'. each of these shafts, through the gears 9 carried thereby, transmits rotary motion to the alternate 'coperating mangle rollers 4. `Motion is imparted to the two shafts 10 from'a power driven pulley 12, shown as secured to a counter-shaft 13 journaled in a heavy bearing bracket 14 which, as shown, is rigidly secured to one side of the bed plate 43 and depends therefrom. At its rear end, the shaft 13 carries a 'pair of sprockets 15 land 16. A-.sprocket chainv17 runs over 4the sprocket l5 and a sprocket 18 en one of the shafts 10, and a sprocket chain 19 runs over the sprocket 16 and over a sprocket 20 on the other of saidushafts 10. In this way, the two shafts 10 are simultaneously driven from the shaft 13, which shaft 13 may be driven by a belt (not shown), butl which will run over the pulley l2 and will itself be driven from any suitable source of power. By this means, the several'pairs of mangle rollers \4 are vdriyen in the direction of the arrows marked thereon in Fig. 6. Mounted parallel with and located just at the rear of the seri-es of pairs of mangle rollers 4, is a pair of socalled initial feed rollers 21, the lower of which rollers is journaled in a rearwardly and transversely extendedibearing bracket 3EL of the bed plate 3. The upper feed roller 21 is journaled in the end portions of a long lever acting frame 22 that is hinged-at 23 to the side flanges of the bed plate 3 and is provided at one end with a projecting arm 24 to which a depending link 25 is pivotally attached. The link 25 is pivotally attached at its lower end` to a long lever 26 which, at one end, is pivoted to the bracket 3a (see Fig. 3) and at its free end is provided witha roll 27 that works on a cam 2,8 mounted on a stud or spindle 29 rigidly secured to the bracket 3a. f i l Loosely journaled on the spindle 29 is a large wheel l the bracket 3"' isa belt guiding-pulley 35. Atvgthe A lower intermediate portion` of the bracket 3a is a belt orpulley 30 to the hub of which is secured a spur gear V 31. A The cam 28, as well as'the gear 3l', are carried by the wheel 30 and, as shown, said cam is directly secured to the hub of said gear v(see particularly Fig. 4)..- 5 The shaftsbf the two primary ee'd rollers 21C,-at one end,

shaft l0, as viewed in'Figs. 1 and 3, is provided with a mter gear 33 that meshes with a miter gear 34 carried by the adjacent end of the shaft ofthe ,lower roller 21, so that the said two initial feed rollers 2,1 will be positively rotated inthe direction of the'ar'rows marked thereon in Fig. 4.. The/left hand ends-of the initial feed ro ers 21; are preferably tapered or pointed slightly, as shown'in Fig, 1, so as to assist'indirecting the stems o the flax straw laterally between' said rollers, as will presently more fully appear. v s

Loosely journ'aled on the' .upper left hand portion-o tightening pulley 36 which, as shown, is journaled on a weighted plunger 37 which, in turn, is mounted to 2 5 move vertically through a lug 38 on saidbracket 3.

'The large wheel or pulley 30 is provided with. a loose or supplemental rim 'portion -which, as shown, ismade up of two .rings 39 that. are mounied to `freelyrdtatel vupon the rim proper of said wheel, but are held against lateral displacement by set screws 40, shown-as `screwed through the rimpi said wheel and engaging with annular internal.. grooves of said rings 39. `'lhe two rings 39 are spaced'apart so that an intervening portion of the wheel rim proper is provided with av radial driving pin 41 that projects outward beyond the pe.-

ripheries of saidrings` I A heavy wide faced belt 42'runs over the driving wheel30, the guide wheel or pulley 35, and under the belt tightening pulley 36. The'said -belt 42 runs directly upon the/loose rings 39 or supplemental rim oi the 45 tudinally teeth 44 that are preferably in the form of. thin blades'set edgewise inl a directiori d, transversely of the said belt'.4 Theseteeth exi tend only a verysmall` part ofthe way acrss-the wide faced --belt `42, and in moving the-guide y pulley 3 5 to the 'driving `pulley'fj30 .they @re ranged lto travel between a pair o'vhorizontally -eic' tended laterally spaced guidefbsrsas, stave panier; the said teeth project,"as clearly shown in Figa?, andft'.' The longitudinally extended sideportions'of bed plate 3, at their rear ends, are shownas provided'with projecting arms 3l" that overli'e the 45;v and the said guide bars, at their. right handiends, areshown r as turhed upward and rigidly the righthand member of these arms 3*. ,.At their left hand-ends, the

guide bars 45 are formed with segmental xpbrtiens 46,

' the inner surfaces pfwheh c10se1y-f011w'thebeitin its movement over the guide `pulley .35.' Thesefsegmental bar sections 46 are, as shown, rigidlysecured tothe. boti tom of a hopper`47, which hopper, in' turn, is 'rigidly secured to' `the bearing' bracket 3. The said segmental.

' right with respectto Fig. 3, they will gradually pro-4 -face with alongitudinally err-tendedl groove through- .mail thatparticular sinmhlereor is' moved with' @naif-er @wax-straw wsu-be spread'nut b ivm be lowered f-pproirirnat -pletion .of theA said beltsmovementf The lower Vroller 2,1 an all'.v

portions 46,"in fact, constitutepart of the bottom of the said Vhopper 47. The upper surfaces of the said segmental portions 46 extend eccentric to th axis of the guidelpulley 35, and gradually, more closely approach f said airis in a direction upwardly Aa'nd toward the right.I 70 Otherwise stated, t he uppersuriaces of the segmental portions, 46 are so extended that the belt teeth 44 at 'the-extreme bottom of the hopper, will not project above the same, but as the said teeth move toward. the

t ject and acquire an increasing hold upon: the flax straws that are' atthe bottom of the hopper. 11n this Away, eachtooth willtake hold oi lseveral straws and will carry the same from the bottom of the hopper without causing the straws t be tangled and, furthervmore, an even selection and feed of the straw is this wayinsured-- y Y. f -1 g The straws carriedfrom the hopper by the teeth44 are carried lunder a yielding presser bar 48 that overlies the guide bars 45 and, as shown, is supported from the overlying arms 3 1); by short bolts 49, light coiled springs 50, as shown, being placed on the. said bolts between Asaid bar 4'8and arms 3b. As preferred and as shwn, in ]5`ig'. 4, thepresserbar 4 8 'is provided in its undersurfv -which the upper ends of the belt teeth 44 are arranged to pass in their straw carrying movement from the hop Q per to the right hand` end of the said presserbar. Y Directing attention'now particularly to Fig. 3, it will v ,be seen that one of-the slots43 of the belt 42 'stands at -95 the bottom of the driving .wheel 30 and'in such position ,that the driving' pin 4l ofsaid wheel `is just leaving 017' passing out of thev same and it will also be noted that another ofv the saidslots 43is at the top of the said l driving wheel in such position that the driving pin 4 1 100 may freely enter the same: It 'will now be understood that'while the` driving pin 41'is passing upward from the lower s lot noted tothe upper slot noted, the driving belte42V will stand still and the driving wheel. 30 will: rotate freely-within theloose rings `39 ,i the sa id rings be- 105 ing then held Aagainst rotation by their ric'tional engagementwith the belt 42. It'will also be understood.

that when the driving pin-.41 engages witlithe'upper,

.ing wheeler, najmftzlea sanding sammy@ etweeir the inistraws endwise toward the rollers 4 will be resisted'by the frictional tension exerted thereon, by the presser bar 48, so that the endwise feed movement of the flax straw will take place only when the -upper feed roller 21 is pressed downward and the spreader belt 42 is stationary. The fiax straws should, of course, be placed within the hopper 47 with theirbutt ends projecting toward the mangle rollers 4. l

The initial feed rollers 21 may be either smooth or slightly corrugated. The socalled mangle rollers 4 should be corrugated and their corrugations in cross section should be rounded substantially as shown in Fig. 6. Furthermore, theA corrugations of the said mangle rollers should be of greater pitch and deeper on those\`that are nearest the feed rollers 21, and should be of less pitch and shallower on those that are nearest to` the delivery end of the machine.- By such arrangement, the brittle particles of the flax straw willbe first broken into comparatively long lengths, and will subsequently be broken into ,shorter and shorter lengths'as it is fed through the several series of coperating mangle rollers i i As the flax straws are fed endwise between the initial feed rollers 21 and are drawn endwise between the cooperating bars 45 and 48, a great many of the seed-containing pods will be stripped off, but some of the said pods will pass between the said bars and will come into contact with the said rollers 21, and by said rollers, the pods will be broken open and the flax seeds will be pressed out of the same. The tension or downward pressure on the upper feed roller 21 should not be` great enough to crush any flax seeds which may be carried with the straw between the said two l rollers 21. The tension on the several pairs of cpperating mangle rollers should be increased in a direction forward or' away from said feed rollers 2l, so that the crushing of the fiber of the flax straw will be accomplished progressively. l

The mangled flax straw is delivered from the mangle rollers onto a deck or table 51 which, as shown, is pivotally supported from the forward end of the bed plate 3. This deck 51 is, as shown, provided with parallel slots 52 that extend transversely of the machine, or parallel to the axis of the rollers 4. Mounted in suitable bearings on the under side of this deck 51 near the ends thereof, is a pair of parallel shafts 53 that extend longitudinally ofthe machine and are provided each with a plurality of sprockets v54. Sprocket chains 55 run over the alined sprockets 54 .of the two shafts A53, and-each chain 55 is provided with a rake tooth 56. The rake teeth 56 of the several chains are 'alined with each other longitudinally of the machine, and they are larranged to travel in and project upward through the slots 52 of the deck, and thus intermittently engage'and scrape fromV the deck 51 all mangled flax delivered onto the said table from the mangle rollers.

The endless traveling rake made up of the toothed chains 55-56 may be conveniently driven from one or the other ofthe shafts 10, and to this end the right hand shaft l0 is shown as provided with a driving sheaveA 57,

and the rear end of the `right hand shaft 53 is shown as provided with a sheave 58. 7 illustrates, diagrammatically the manner in which motion may be transmitted from the sheave 57 to the sheave 58, by

means of a crossed belt 59 which runs over the said two sheaves and over tightening sheaves 60 Vand 61. The belt tightening sheaves 60-61 may be mounted in any suitable way, but preferably they'will be mounted 0n a floating weighted frame 62. -With the belt connections shown, the traveling rake 55-56 is arranged t0 deliver the mangled flax off from the right hand end of the deck 5l, directions being taken with respect to Fig. 1. l

As already stated, all of the parts of the machine are preferably mounted on a truck, so that the machine may be easily moved from place to place, either in the `eld or elsewhere. As a motive power for running the machine, an engine, such as an explosive engine, may be mounted on the truck and arranged to impart motion to the driving pulley 12.

What I claim is:

1. In a machine of the kind described, the combination with feed rollers and means for intermittently separating the same, ofmeans for spreading the straws or stems laterally in the form of a sheet and for inter-posing the same between said rollers while the latter are separated, substantially as described.

2. In a machine of the kind described, the combination with feed rollers and means for driving and for intermittently separating the same, of an endless feed device arranged to feed the straws or stems laterallybetween said rollers while the latter are separated, substantially as described.

Il, In a machine of the kind described, the combination. with mechanism for treating the straws, of feed mechanism therefor comprising a pair of rollers and means for intermittently separating the same, of means for feeding the straws laterally between said feed rbllers while the same are separated, substantially as described.

4. In amachine of the kind described, the combination with a pair of feed rollers and means for driving and for intermittently separating the same, of a hopper or holder for tht` straws or stems, and an endless ltoothed feed belt arranged to carry the straws or stems `laterally from said hopper or holder and to spread out the same between said rollers, while the latter are separated, substantially as de scribed.

5. ln a machine of the kind described, the combination with a pair of feed rollers and means for driving and for intermittently separating the same, of mangle rollers receiving straws or stems from said feed rollers, a'. hopper arranged to hold the straws or stems in the vicinity of one end of said feed rol lers, an endless toothed feed belt arranged to carry the straws or stems laterally from said hopper and to spread the same out in a sheet between said feed rollers, while the latter are separated, substantially as described, l l

6. In a machine of the kind described, the combination with feed rollers and means for driving and for intermittently separating the same, upper and lowr guide rails extending parallel to said feed, rollers and in the vicinity thereof, andan endless toothed feed belt arranged to take up and spread ont straws or stems and to carry the same between said guide rails and between said feed rollers, while the latter are separated, substantially as described.

7. ln a machine of the kind described, the combination with feed rollers and means for driving and intermittently separatinf.: the same. of a hopper near one end of said rollers, a guide wheel below said hopper, a driving wheel near the other end of said rollers, a toothed feed belt running over said guide wheel and over said driving wheel, and a guide' rail extending parallel to said feed rollers throughout its main length, and having at one end a segmental portion that constitutcs a bottom to said hopper and extends eccentric to the axis of the underlying guide wheel, substantially as'described.

8. In a machine of the kind described, the combination with feed rollers and means for driving and for intermittently separating the same, of a hopper near one end of said rollers, an underlying guide wheel, an intermittently acting drive wheel near the other end of said rollers, .a

` vguide rail extending parallel said feed-rollers throughdriving'projection, of a coperating guide wheel, and a.

out its main length and terminating' at one end` in a segmental section .that extends eccentric to the vaxis of the underlying'guide wheel, a yielding presser bar overlying said guide wheel, and a toothed feed `belt running over saidA feed belt arranged to run over the loose rim portion of said -dliving wheel and over said guide lwheel, and-which belt is intermittently subject to the driving projection of said driving wheel, substantially 'as described.'` v

10. In a feed device of the knd'described, the combination with a driving Wheel having a loose rim portion and a driving projection, of a'coperating' guide wheel, a hopper in the vicinity of said guide wheel', a -pair of feed rollers eitended parallel to the plane of said drivinglwheel and guiding wheel, means for driving and for intermittently separatingsaid feed rollers, and a toothed feed belt ar-V ranged to rnnrover the loose rim portion of said driving wheel, over 'said guide wheel and under said hopper, and which feed belt is intermittently subject to the driving projection of said driving wheel, and isl arranged to'. carry straws or stems from said hopper, and to spread the saine ,out in a sheet between said feed rollers, while the latter per open at its bottom to the'segmental end of said guide rails, a yielding presser bar overlying said guide rails, a guide Wheel underlying andlocated eccentric to the segmental ends of said lguide rails, adriving Wheel located near the other ends of said guide rails, said driving Wheel having loose rim portions, and a projectingdriving lug, and a toothed guide belt running over the loose rim portions of said drivingwheel, over said guide wheel and under said guide rails, with its teeth arranged to work between said guide railsand which belt is intermittently subject to the driving lug of said drivinlgwheel, substantially as-described.l

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses. a

KARL wEssEL.

Witnesses z I 'MALm Hom., ,F. D. MERCHANT. 

